M J\?<c (irardei) &r>d Laojr). ^f 



CANADIAN WILDFLOWERS. IV. 



The Buttercup Family— \Continued). 



THE MARSH MARIGOLD — Ctlltha Pdlustrfc. 



HIS showy, marsh-loving plant is very common in Ontario, growing 

 in wet places and often so abundantly that the ground is fairly 

 a sheet of gold during the time that it is in bloom, which is usually 

 in the month of May. It has no petals, but the sepals, which vary 

 in number from five to nine, and are broad oval in form, are of a 

 brilliant yellow. The pistils also vary from five to ten, and the 

 stamens are numerous. Its leaves are large and kidney-shaped or 

 round, smooth and shining, and are often cooked as greens. It can be easily 

 transplanted into any low, marshy ground. Whether it will flourish in common 

 garden soil, the writer cannot say, not having tested it in such a situation long 

 enough to decide the question. 



The Three-Leaved Goldthread, Coptis trifolia. This pretty, little, 

 white-flowered, May-blooming plant, loves the cool shade and damp, mossy 

 places. It is doubtful if we can coax it to grow in any other situation or soil, 

 yet the writer is making the experiment of transplanting it to a shady border 

 possessing conditions of soil and moisture approximating those of its native 

 haunts, with what success time will show. Its three leaflets are sharply toothed 

 and obscurely three-lobed, evergreen, but often in the spring with an almost 

 purplish hue. The sepals are from five to seven in number, and there is the 

 same number of small, club shaped petals. It has numerous stamens, and from 

 three to seven pistils. The root is a long, bright yellow thread, very bitter, 

 which is often used to make a wash for sore mouths, with good effect. 



The Columbine, Aquikgia Canadensis. Of all the varieties of columbine 

 in cultivation we know of none more beautiful than our own wild Canadian 

 species. The combination of scarlet and yellow in the flowers, nodding so 

 gracefully on their slender stalks, is just charming. It is by no means particular 

 as to soil or situation, and when once established continues to flourish for many 

 years. Its five sepals are colored like the petals, which are also five, the latter 

 being lengthened backwards into hollow spurs which are nearly straight. The 



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